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Africa Express combines a study of energy projects... with train travelling ! Far from being contradictory, this experience offers a new vision of helpful and responsible adventure.

In the context of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, it seemed obvious to us to put the light on Africa. With almost 600 million people having no access to electricity on the continent, innovative and replicable initiatives exist and deserve to be highlighted.

Moreover, train is a great way to sustainable mobility although the railway network is not well-connected in Africa... Travelling by train was an important logistical constraint, fortunately outweighed by all the encounters during journeys!

Through 25 energy projects, this webdocumentary introduces you the men and women who are building the future of Africa.

Ausefuladventure !

A unique adventure to discover Africa of sustainable energies

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EMBARK WITH US FOR ATOUR OF ENERGY PROJECTS IN AFRICA!

Africa Express is a French NGO. In 2012, Claire Guibert and Jeremy Debreu travelled through 22 African countries to study 25 energy projects. They covered a total distance of 40,000 km including 13,000 by train…

During your trip, click on the icons to discover multimedia contents.

Chapter one

From Maghreb to West Africa

ONCF

With nearly 2,000 kms in operation, Morocco has developed one of the most reliable railway networks in Africa. A high-speed line is even being built between Tangier and Marrakech.

SNIM

Since 1963, the SNIM ore train has been carrying three times a day millions of tons of iron to the port of Nouadhibou in Mauritania. With 200 cars and 3 or 4 locomotives, the train is one of the longest that exist in the world: 2,500 meters!

Morroco

Mauritania

National Program forEnergy Efficiency in Buildings

Project / Professional training and regulation of energy efficiency in buildingsLaunch Year / 2009 – In progressDeveloper / ADEREE (www.aderee.ma)

Buildings account for over 36% of the total energy consumption in Morocco, and controlling energy use in buildings is a huge potential source of savings. The Moroccan government hopes to reduce energy consumption in this sector by 12% as of 2020.With this goal in mind, ADEREE works with a network of partners and international property owners, and the UNDP in particular, to develop energy efficiency programs for industries and buildings.

500 MW CSP plant

95% of Moroccan electricity is imported. The country is currently facing challenges related to significant social and economic growth. According to estimates, national energy consumption will triple by 2030. To meet these new needs and reduce its energy dependence, Morocco put in place a national strategy in 2009 for the development of renewable energies, particularly wind energy (4,000 MW goal) and solar energy (4,000 MW goal).

In West Africa, it is estimated that over 40% of crops are lost due to lack of conservation. Cesbron has developed cold storage chambers and milk tanks which run on solar energy and are designed specifically for use in developing countries. Unfortunately, at the time of our visit and to this day, the milk tank was not yet installed in a rural area.

Small wind turbine construction

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Project / Creating an industry for construction and sale of small locally made wind turbines for pumping unitsLocation / Dakar Launch Year / 2006 — Research project Developer / EolSénégal

EolSénégal produces small wind turbines built with 95% of local materials and which provide enough energy for electricity and pumping drinking water. In 2013, EolSenegal became a business and started a serial production of wind turbines, sales and installation.

« Femme Soleil » Project

Bati Africa NGO wishes to provide sustainable energy to mothers in isolated areas so that these women can pursue income-generating activities. A preliminary study allowed for better understanding of local needs and identified 10 activities that can run on solar energy: sewing, hairdressing, repair work, mobile recharging services, cinema, Internet... Unfortunately, the project is unable to continue at this time, as subsidized funding is not yet confirmed.

Ecovillages National Program

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Project / Transforming rural villages into ecovillages through various initiatives, including access to a clean and reliable energy serviceLaunch Year / 2008 — Currently underwayDeveloper / Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric, a partner in the project, has equipped three villages with a solar micro power plant that was specifically designed for decentralized electrification in rural areas. Equipment includes solar panels, a central battery and a charging station for portable batteries.

Decentralized rural electrificationvia small-scale grids

Korayé Kurumba RESCO aims to increase economic activity and quality of life for the people living in the Kayes region of Western Mali. Low-tension microgrids powered by small diesel plants serve over 90% of the villagers. The remaining 10% use photovoltaic kits, with a total of 3,775 clients to date in 16 villages.

SITARAIL

This train is almost one of the last transborder lines still operating in Africa. Since the mid-1990s, it has been managed by the Sitarail company through a public-private partnership.

Burkina-Faso

Ghana

Initial and continuous trainingof operators and rural electricitypersonnel in West Africa

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Project / Creating and organizing a sustainable energy program in West Africa through initial and continuing education of operators and other rural electricity personnelLocation / Mali and Burkina FasoLaunch Year / 2011 — Currently underwayDeveloper / EDF (www.formationelecruraleafrique.org)

These courses are designed to be integrated into the national training programs to provide the practical skillset for rural electrification. Existing training programs in each pilot country were listed. The learning contents are developed and/or adapted regarding the skills needed in the field. The contents of the programs cover technical skills as well as management and business administration skills.

Developed by Electriciens Sans Frontières (Electricians Without Borders), this project aims to support Tin Tua: a Burkinabe NGO that works to increase literacy. ESF has thus provided 14 groups of villages (diémas) of the Gulmu area with solar photovoltaic equipment to electrify administrative buildings and classrooms.

In Benin, only 3% of households have access to electricity in rural areas. 308 households, that is, 1,800 people, spread throughout the villages of Domè, Hon and Koussoukpa (about 25% of the population) are now equipped with individual solar panels. Each family has two 9-Wc lamps, and they are able to charge a mobile phone and plug in a radio.

ALTERRE is a pilot program developed by the NGO GERES whose goal is to produce and process jatropha based pure vegetable oil (jatropha being a non-food oil seed crop) for mechanical use. After a simple and cost-effective technical procedure, most motors in rural areas can be adapted to use vegetable oil in place of diesel, particularly motors used for food production, such as village mills, presses, etc.

Providing solar energy servicesto three rural villages

Schneider Electric partnered with Ecolabs, through the BipBop program, to help provide renewable energy to off-grid villages, especially for water treatment plant, health centres, education facilities and agricultural machinery. Schneider Electric provides the Villasol solar power plants and the individual solar kits that will be sold to customers through local companies.

Center for integrated research,training and sustainable agriculture

The NGO Songhaï has served in Benin and the sub region of West Africa as a model for agricultural development and food processing that adds value to every step of the food production cycle. The Porto Novo Center and the other Songhaï centers are proof that the full cycle of food production can take place in rural areas, and that these areas can be independent financially, energetically, and agriculturally.

Chapter two

Central Africa

TRANS-GABON

The railway line Libreville-Franceville is nearly 700 km long. The Transgabon railway carries logs and manganese to Libreville.

CONGO OCEAN

The Congo-Ocean Railway (COR) has connected Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire since 1934. This train carries the product of mining, agriculture and forest wood to Pointe-Noire, the only deep-water port in the region.

Agroforestry andRural Development

Novacel Company supports this project of rural development located 150 km east of Kinshasa and is animated by an economic, a social, and an environmental logic. This project is about converting 8,000 hectares of natural grassland into a successful economic agroforestry: carbon wells and cassava production center, but also wood energy to power the Kinshasa area.

Chapter three

Southern Africa

TRANSNAMIB

A 8-hours-night train journey separates the capital Windhoek from Walvis Bay oceanfront. The Transnamib operates over 2,300 kilometers across the country in total.

ROVOS RAIL

The "most luxurious train in the world" offers a unique experience throughout Southern Africa. Passengers rooms may up to 17m2 up in cars restored in a pure Victorian style.

SHOSHOLOZA TRAIN

With over 20,000 kilometers of railways, South Africa operates the largest network on the continent by far. The Shosholoza train offers a pleasant journey in comfortable conditions. It is great news, because train journeys can exceed 12 hours in this huge country!

Connection to the national gridwith a prepayment system

Conlog, a South African company, is the worldwide leader in prepaid electricity. The company committed to extend its technical solutions to low-income populations. Prepayment meters are connected to the national grid; they work on a reloading system. The customer buys a prepaid card from a distributor with his energy credits. After entering the code provided in the meter, electricity is ready to be used.

Rural electrification withindividual solar kits

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Project / Individual solar solutions in rural areas through a network of franchises across the countryLaunch Year / 2010 — Currently underwayDeveloper / BPC Lesedi, a joint-venture between BPC (55%) and EDF (45%) (www.bpclesedi.co.bw)

In Botswana, 51% of the population has access to electricity. BPC Lesedi sells individual photovoltaic kits to bring electricity to off-grid rural areas. The company currently relies on a network of eight franchises in the Gaborone and Maun regions. They commercialize the 3 energy plans, maintain the equipment and collect fees from their 500 customers.

Chapter four

East Africa

TAZARA

The Tazara connects Zambia to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Built by the Chinese in the 1970s, the line became an economic and social link for local population. The train takes 3 days and 2 nights to cover at a good speed the 1860 km between the two cities...

In Tanzania, 80% of the population lives within five kilometers of the power grid, but only 10% has access to electricity. Given these circumstances, portable battery rental services seem to be an effective alternative for providing basic electricity to households off grid.

Developing Energy Enterprises Project

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Project / Providing modern energy services to 1.5 million people living in rural and peri-urban areas in East AfricaLocation / Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, RwandaLaunch Year / 2008 — CompletedDeveloper / GVEP (Global Village Energy Partnership) (www.gvepinternational.org)

Since 2008, the Developing Energy Enterprises Project (DEEP) aims to increase the availability of renewable, efficient, and sustainable energy at an affordable price for populations in rural and peri-urban areas. It helped nearly 900 micro and small businesses offering solar lighting and mobile recharging services, as well as improved cook stove and biomass briquette production.

LUNATIC EXPRESS

The Lunatic Express linked Kampala (Uganda) to the Indian Ocean in the early 20th century. Today the journey begins only in Nairobi, but the historic route is being rehabilitated.

Improved cook stoves

In Uganda, families spend as much as 15% of their annual income on cooking fuels. Founded in the 1980s, Ugastove Ltd is a family-owned company which produces ICS that are more energy-efficient and less air-polluting than traditional cooking methods.

Improved cook stoves

With a deforestation rate of 2% per year, Uganda has lost 40% of its forest mass in the last 20 years. 85% of this deforestation is attributed to overconsumption of wood used for cooking by 80% of the population. Taking this into consideration, the start-up UpEnergy has started marketing improved cook stoves (ICS) that consume nearly half the wood of traditional cooking methods.

Hydroelectric Power Plant

Uganda struggles with a growing energy demand: Kampala, the capital of the country, suffers power outages for several hours almost every day. To make up for the lack of infrastructure in the country, the government is currently developing its hydroelectric potential. Building dams like the one in Bujagali makes it possible to meet growing, long-term energy needs, and to cut production costs in half when compared to combustible energy sources.

400 MW Geothermal Power Plant

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Project / Development of a 400 MW geothermal power plant in the Rift Valley in order to secure national and regional electricity productionLocation / Menengai Caldera, Nakuru Region Launch Year / 2011 — Under constructionDeveloper / GDC (Geothermal Development company) (www.gdc.co.ke)

Kenya has an estimated geothermal potential of 10,000 MW. Virtually untapped today, this geothermal energy could really help diversify the country's energy sources and meet the growing energy needs of East Africa. The construction site of the Menengai geothermal power plant is located 180 km northwest of Nairobi. By 2015, the project will produce 400 MW of electricity by means of 120 wells that are currently being drilled.

Developing Energy Enterprises Project

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Project / Providing modern energy services to 1.5 million people living in rural and peri-urban areas in East AfricaLocation / Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, RwandaLaunch Year / 2008 — CompletedDeveloper / GVEP (Global Village Energy Partnership) (www.gvepinternational.org)

Since 2008, the Developing Energy Enterprises Project (DEEP) aims to increase the availability of renewable, efficient, and sustainable energy at an affordable price for populations in rural and peri-urban areas. It helped nearly 900 micro and small businesses offering solar lighting and mobile recharging services, as well as improved cook stove and biomass briquette production.

And the adventure continues to the pyramids of Cairo...

For more information on the current and upcoming statement of energy in Africa,download the Africa Express White Paper for free